Flourgon Wins Settlement In $300 Million Lawsuit From Miley Cyrus

Michael May, better known as Flourgon, has been awarded settlement in a US$300 million copyright infringement lawsuit against Miley Cyrus. The Jamaican song writer had accused the pop star of stealing her 2013 smash “We Can’t Stop” from a similar song he recorded almost 25 years ago.

Flourgon sued Cyrus in March 2018, claiming that “We Can’t Stop” closely resembled his 1988 song “We Run Things,” which he said was a favourite because it was number one on the charts in Jamaica.

Flourgon who got his stage name, because of his love of dumplings, is known for his work on various Kingston sound systems. He also runs his own system called Sweet Love, which has featured celebrated Dancehall artistes like Buju Banton. He is also known for his performances with his brother, the deejay Red Dragon.

He was a major player in the late 1980s and 1990s and has recorded for producers such as Winston Riley, Steely & Clevie, and Philip “Fatis” Burrell. He has also collaborated with Freddie McGregor (“Bless My Soul”), Sanchez (“Madly In Love”) and Ninjaman. Flourgon became a Rastafarian and stopped performing his earlier material around 2008 because: “certain songs mi used to do mi wouldn’t do anymore. I’m more conscious now”.

In March 2018, Flourgon filed a law suit against Miley Cyrus and record label RCA for copyright infringement, saying that Cyrus’s song “We Can’t Stop” includes lyrics from his song “We Run Things.

He said that RCA Records, which is owned by Sony Corp, stole his material including the phrase “We run things. Things no run we,” which she sang as “We run things. Things don’t run we.”

According to Reuters : “May, Cyrus, Sony and other defendants filed a joint stipulation in Manhattan federal court on Friday ending the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again. Cyrus’ lawyers said in a Dec. 12 letter that a settlement agreement had been signed, and that the stipulation would be filed “pending payment of the settlement proceeds.”